When considering whether to take the CAT exam again, various factors must be considered before making a decision. The CAT exam is highly competitive and an essential requirement for admission to prestigious management institutes in India.
Make a decision; it would be beneficial to reflect on your past performance, assess your willingness to invest time in preparation once more, evaluate the potential for improvement, and grasp the benefits a higher score could bring to your career aspirations. When deciding whether to give the CAT exam another shot, it’s important to consider a few key points:
- Performance on the last try: Look back at how well you did on the previous try. You might not have to retake the test if you did well. But if you did poorly, think about retaking the test.
- Improvements in planning: Consider how much better your preparation is now than on your last try. If you have done much better, you should retake the test.
- Time management: Consider how much time you have to study for the test. If you have enough time to study well, you might want to retake it.
- Motivation: Determine your motivation. If you want to do well on the test, there may be an excellent reason to retake it.
- Goals and objectives: Consider why you want to take the CAT. You should retake the test if you have a clear goal and objectives.
- Feedback and analysis: Look over the comments you got on your last try. If you get helpful comments, retaking the test might be a good idea.
- New ways to prepare: Think about what new ways of preparing you have learned since your last try. That might be an excellent reason to retake the test.
- Investment of money: Consider how much money you’ll need to retake the test. You should retake the test if you can afford it.
- Support and resources: Look at the help and materials available to help you study for the test. You should retake the test if you have enough help and tools.
- Plans for the future: Think about your plans for the future and how a higher CAT score might affect them. If getting a higher CAT score has dramatically impacted your plans for the future, you should retake the test.
What advantages does retaking the CAT exam offer?
Before deciding whether to retake the CAT exam, it’s essential to consider the various advantages:
- Identifying Areas for Improvement: By retaking the CAT exam, you can pinpoint the areas where you can enhance your performance, drawing insights from your previous attempt.
- Possibility to Achieve Higher Scores: Retaking the exam presents an opportunity to improve your scores, greatly enhancing your chances of getting accepted into prestigious business schools.
- Examining Other Competitive Exams: If you decide to retake the CAT exam and don’t achieve your desired score, other competitive exams are available for you to consider. These exams, such as XAT, SNAP, NMAT, IIFT, or MAT, are accepted by many business schools in India.
- Improving Preparation Strategies: Retaking the exam allows you to fine-tune and improve your preparation strategies, potentially leading to better results.
- Sustainability and staying focused: Retaking the CAT exam showcases an admirable level of persistence and determination, which both business schools and employers highly regard.
- Boosted Confidence: Retaking the CAT exam and improving your score can significantly enhance your confidence and belief in your abilities.
- Chances of Getting into Your Dream College: Although retaking the CAT doesn’t guarantee admission to your dream college, it does allow you to work harder and better prepare yourself for that goal.
When might you want to take the CAT again?
- Suppose you already have a job and take the CAT. If you find that the schools you could get into at this percentile would not give you enough return on your investment, you should retake the test.
- Let’s say you are a new graduate who did your undergrad at IITs, BITS Pilani, or other schools in the same league. After taking the CAT, you understand that BLACKI is out of reach. Then, you should retake the CAT next year and work on getting a job so you don’t have to take a break this year.
- If you are a new graduate who did your undergrad at NITs or schools in the same league as them, consider taking the CAT next year. After the CAT, consider getting a job to fill the time during your gap year.
You can also think about a mix of the above factors when deciding whether to return for the CAT. Once you know which part you want to return or not, you should focus on that part. Also, by thinking about these things, you’ll be able to clearly understand your “WHY” for doing an MBA, and trust me, once you know the “WHY,” it will be easy to figure out the “HOW.”
Now that you know whether you want to take your MBA this year or wait until next year to prepare better, it is essential to start your preparations as soon as possible with a structured plan from the very beginning.
How can you improve in areas where you may be less capable?
Once you’ve decided to give CAT another try, it’s essential to focus on improving your weaker areas after analyzing your performance. So, how can you improve your performance in your next mock? If you’re looking for a CAT online practice batch, QDS Pro offers a great option. With their programme, you can access over 7500 CAT-level practice questions covering all three sections. It’s a comprehensive resource to help you prepare for the exam.
- This exclusive group will include students who sign up for the course. Here are a few essential things to consider before making a purchase:
- Committing two to three hours every day is essential to achieving a 99 percentile. If you cannot allocate time, this exercise will be difficult to understand.
This course provides ample practice opportunities, ensuring you can strengthen your skills through consistent and focused effort. It aims to help individuals achieve a score in the top 99.5th percentile.
